Apparatus for use ist effecting chemical reactions



H. W. PAULUS.

APPARATUS FOR USE INEFFECTING CHEMICAL REACTIONS. APPLICATION FILED JULY 26,1920.

1,420,210, Patented June 20, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

H. W.. PAULUS. APPARATUS FOR USE IN,EFFECTING CHEMICAL REACTIONS.

APPLICATION. FILED JULY 26. I920.

m M W P lllIIIIII/II/ H. w. PAULUS. I APPARATUS FOR USE IN EFFECTING CHEMICAL REACTIONS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 26,1920- HERMAN W. PAUL'US, 0F RICHMOND HILL,

PATENT OFFICE.

NEW. YORK; ASSIGNOR TO ROYAL BAKING PONDER COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

APPARATUS FOR USE IN EFFECTING CHEMICAL REACTIONS.

Application filed July 26,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatl, lineman Vi. PAULUS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident oi Richmond Hill Long island. in the county 01: Queens and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Apparatus for Use in E'il'ecting Chemical Reactions. of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to an apparatus tor use in effecting chemical reactions. and more particularly the invention relates to an apparatus for use in edecting chemical reac tions in which it is neccssaiy to form the compound under pressure and by means of heat, all the while stirring the compound to effect the intimate contact of all the particles with each other.

The apparatus or theinvention maybe putto a wide variety of uses in effecting chemical reactions oi the above indicated nature. For the purposes of illustration. and description the invention will be described with relation to the production of sodium 'lormate, although it will be understood that the invention is by no means to be restricted to an apparatus particularlyadapted for this purpose. inasmuch as the apparatus of the invention is equally well adapted For use in producing other compounds in which it is newssary to follow a more or less similar course oi steps and reactions. The object of the invention is to reorganize and improve the construction and arrangement of the parts of an apparatus i or use in eitecting chemical reactions in which the apparatus subjected to great due to the heat and pressure under which the chemical reactions take place in order that such apparatus may perform its functions more effectively and economically than with the apparatus at present employed For such purposes. To this end the invention consists in the improved apparatus hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in. the appended claims.

The preferred form oi the invention is illustrated in the :u-companying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a. longitudinal section through the improved apparatus; Fig. 2 is a transverse section through the apparatus, and Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic representation of the apparatus in connection with accessory parts for assisting in carrying out the process performed in the apparatus.

The improved apparatus for use in effect- Specification of Letters Iatent. Patented June 20, 1922,

1920. Serial N0. 399,082.

ing chemical reactions as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. comprises a receptacle or chamber in Which the chemical process is effected. This chamber 5 constitutes the interior of a cylindrical tank or drum 6. The drum 6 must be of some material suliiciently strong to withstand the great stresses to which it is subjected during the chemical reactions taking place in the chamber 5. It has been found that a carefully made steel casting is adapted for the pur pose. The open ends of thesteel cylinder 6 are closed by steel heads 7 and 8. These heads are preferably made dished the better to withstand the stresses to which they. are subjected.

For the sake of illustration it is assumed that the sodium tor-mate produced in the apparatus or the invention is made according to the principles of the Hempel process. The caustic soda in pulverized form is placed in the reaction chamber 5 and then the carbon monoxide is introducedv under a pressure varying from 123 to 150 pounds. The caustic soda is introduced into the chamber 5- through the manhole or dome 10 situated at the top of the drum. A. hinged cover 11 used to close the dome. The carbon monoxide may be contained in what known as producer which has been carefully scrubbed and dehydrated so as to eliminate all ob- ;iectionable substances and entrained water.

The gas introduced into the reaction chamber will now consist of about 25 71% of carbon monoxide together with hydrogen and nitro-' gen. After these gases have passed through the reaction chamber, the mixture of hydrogen. nitrogen and. the remaining carbon monoxide which has not been taken up the caustic soda may be used for heating purposes. The carbon monoxide with its accompanying gases is introduced into the re action chamber through the valve-controlled pipes 12 and 13. The waste gases leave the reaction chamber through the relatively small pipes 14 which enter the drum through the dome 1!). These discharge pipes 1i are made relatively small to give the escaping gases suilicieut velocity "for cleaning the pipes. To avoid unnecessary noise mad by the escaping gases, and prevent the loss of suspended particles the pipes l-i discharge into a dust collector 15 and thence into water seals in the tanks 16 and 17. The water in the tank 16 is kept at such a level that the gases passing through it are kept at a pressure requisite for combustion purposes. l he Water in the tank l7 acts as an automatic relief to the atmosphere in case the valve 21 is closed. The waste gases first travel past a series of ba-fiie plates 18 arranged in the dome 10 to catch as much of the escaping caustic soda and sodium tor-mate as possible and then they pass through the dust collector 15 to remove still more oi the particles of the formate contained in the gases and finally they pass through the water seals l9 and 2b contained within the tanks 16 and 17. These water seals act to prevent the propagation ot a flame back through the pipes into the drum.

The reaction between the caustic soda and carbon monoxide in producing the sodium formate sets in at about 125 pounds pressure and at a temperature of about i30 0.. depending somewhat on the percentage of carbon monoxide in the producer gas. Care must be exercised. that the temperature does not rise above 175 C., otherwise the resulting material will be sodium carbonate. Consequently in order to secure the desired results, it is necessary to raise the temperature of the apparatus to 130 C. at the beginning of the operation and then when the operation has proceeded "for some time, during which the temperature of the apparatus is gradually rising due to the exothermic reaction taking place in the reaction chamber, itis necessary to dissipate the heat thus evolved. For this purpose the tanl; or drum 6 is provided with a shell or jacket 22 which, with the external periphery of the drum, forms means for heating and cooling the drum. In order to efiect a proper circulation oi the heating and cooling fluids, the periphery of the drum 6 is provided with a helical rib 24. Grooves 25 in the rib 24 provide tor the better distribution oi the heating and cooling fluids. Steam may be used as the heating l'luid. This is introduced through the channels 26 formed by the rib E24; by the inlet pipes 27 located at the top of the apparatus. The condensed. steam is drawn off through the pipes 528 located at the bottom oi the apparatus. The heads 7 and 8 of the apparatus are of jacketed construction to provide the chambers 30 and $31 into which the pipes 32 and 33 respectively admit steam for heating purposes. The con densed steam from the chambers 3) and 31. is drawn off through the pipes 34-. and 35 respectively. The cooling fluid may be air intimately mixed with atomized water. This mixture is introduced through the channels 26 by means oi a series oi. pipes 3'? arranged tangentially in the jacket 22. The cooling fluid and air which have been converted into a mixture of superl'ieated steam are discharged through the pipes 97. Low pressure steam mixed with cooled air may also be used as the cooling fluid. These cooling tluids on coming in contact with the hot surface oi? the drum will, of course, be instantly converted into steam and the cooling effect due to the latent heat which is evolved wl'iile converting the water into steam. Care must be exercised that the steam generated in this manner is not sutlicient to burst the jacket. By means of this cooling arrange ment the operation oi? the apparatus may be made contimiouu. Unless the cooling means is effective. it is necessary to interrupt the operation or the apparatus, so that the length of time necessary to accomplish the desired, chemical reaction is unduly prolonged.

During th process oi. converting the caustic soda and carbon monoxide into sodium iorniate. the particles oi caustic soda and the gas must be intimately mixed. For this purpose the apparatus is provided with a new Form of mixer. The mixer is so con structed that the means for agitating the n'iaterial to be acted upon are arranged to more in close proximity to the interior sides 0? the drum. This is so as to maintain the middle part of the interior of the drum as tree from obstructions as pOSSlblQ so as to iirevent the mass acted upon from adhering to the agitating means. By arranging the agitating means near the inner surfaces Oil the interior o'l the drunr the material falls from the agitating means toward the middle o l the drum and. is properly mixed or agitated. There will. of course. be a small amount of material adhering to the means for siuiporting the agitating means. This mixer comprises a series of knives or scrapers. 39 arranged in staggered relation on anele irons ll) se ured at the outer ends oi the arms o'l spiders l9 mounted on a shaft iournalcd in the heads 7 and 8. Stuffing boxes 44- andv 45 are provided to prevent the escape oi gases troni the reaction chamber 5. There may be any number oi arms 41, but it has been 'lound that tour is a convenient nu rnher. The knives or scrapers 39 are ar- J T to move in close proximity with the interior surface of the drum 6. This arrangement keeps the interior surface of the drum clean. in lilre manner and for the same purposethe arms oi the spiders 42 are provided \vitl knives or scrai'iers at? which move in close proximity with the interior surfaces oi the heads 7 and S. The scrapers 519 and 47 are made adjustable. It will. be noted that by means of the mixer. constructed as described above the whole interior surface of the drum is kept clean, which is a highly desirable thing in accoinp'lisl'iing certain cl'iemical reactions. Moreover, the n'ioui'iting oi the spiders for supporting the scrapers is such as to leave practically the whole length oi? the shaft smooth and unobstrinzted. This conduees to preventing xlilO caustic soda from building up on the shaft. it will be recognized that where a series of spiders are mounted throughout the length of the shaft, that the material acted upon accumulates and interferes with the desired chemical reactions. The mixer of the present invention has been produced to offer a minimum surface for the accumulation of the materials being mixed. it has been found in practice that this form of mixer operates most efficiently.

The caustic soda, when placed in the apparatus, as above indicated, is in powdered form. For some unknown reason, there is a stage during the process of converting the caustic soda and carbon monoxide into sodium for-mate at which the mass becomes more or less plastic and sticky. For this reason it is necessary to have the interior of the drum as free as possible from obstructions and to keep the interior surface of the drum clean. This plastic condition of the mass demands a strong construction to keep it in movement. After this stage of the process has passed, the mass again becomes pulverulent. When the process is completed the sodium formate is removed from the drum through the trap 49 provided with the hinged cover 50.

As before pointed out, the apparatus of the present invention has been described in connection with the production of sodium formate by the Hempel process. It will be recognized, however, from the above description, that the apparatus is adapted for use in effecting many kinds of chemical reactions in which pressure and heat are employed and in which it is necessary either to maintain the heat or to vary it from time to time throughout the process. It will be further understood that the invention is not to be restricted to the precise form shown in the drawings and described above, but that it may be embodied in other forms within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. An apparatus for use in effecting chemical reactions comprising a drum for containing the material to be acted upon, mixing means for agitating the material, means for conducting gases to the drum, means for conducting away the waste gases, means for heating the drum so as to promote reactions and means for cooling the drum so as to prevent it from rising above the predetermined temperature. I

2. An apparatus for use in effecting chemical reactions comprising a jacketed cylindrical drum, jacketed heads at the ends of the drum, a shaft supported in the heads, spiders mounted on the shaft at each end of the drum, scrapers supported in staggered relation from the spiders to keep the interior inside surface of the drum clean, means for adjusting the scrapers, a relatively large inlet for admitting gases to the interior of the drum, a plurality of relatively small outlets for conducting away the used gases, means for heating the drum to promote chemical reaction therein, and means for cooling the drum to prevent it from rising above a predetermined temperature.

An apparatus for use in effecting chemical reactions comprising a drum for containing the material to be acted upon, a helical rib formed on the exterior of the drum, a casing resting on the rib thereby forming a helical chamber between the casing and the exterior of the drum, means for admitting heating fluids to the chamber, means for conducting away the used fluids. and grooves in the rib to facilitate the passage of the fluids through the chamber.

4. An apparatus for use in effecting chemical reactions comprising a jacketed cylindrical drum for containing the material to be acted upon, jacketed heads at the ends of the drum, a shaft journaled in the heads, scrapers supported from the shaft for keeping the entire inside surface of the drum clean, an inlet for admitting gases to the drum and an outlet for conducting away the used gases, a helical rib formed on the drum, a casing resting on the rib, thereby forming a helicalchamber between the casing and the drum, means for admitting fiuid to the chamber, means for conducting away the used fluids, and grooves in the periphery of the rib for facilitating the passage of the fluids through the chamber. 7

HERMAN W. PAULUS. 

